New data from the U.S. Census Bureau documents the fact that the U.S. population is getting older but the pace of the aging is significantly different across racial and ethnic groups.
The statistics show that between 2010 and 2018, the median age of the U.S. population increased by one year from 37.2 to 38.2. The state with the highest median age is Maine at 44.9 years. In Utah, the median age is 31 years, the lowest in the nation. North Dakota was the only state in the union that had a younger population than was the case in 2010. Demographers believe that young workers and their young families are flocking to the state due to the oil boom.
The report shows that the median age of African Americans increased by 1.4 years, a larger increase than for the population as a whole.
The report also documented that in 2018, 18 states had a black population greater than or equal to 1.0 million. Cook County, Illinois, had the largest black or African American population, which was about 1.3 million in 2018. Harris County, Texas, had the largest numeric increase between 2017 and 2018, gaining 14,017 African Americans.
